Sources
Help build the largest human-edited directory on the web.
Submit a site - Become an editor
Wikipedia. Licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
Are you an expert in this subject? Join the discussion and share your knowledge at Wikipedia.org.
Pink Floyd The Wall (film)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Pink Floyd The Wall | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster |
|
| Directed by | Alan Parker |
| Produced by | Alan Marshall |
| Written by | Roger Waters |
| Narrated by | Pink Floyd |
| Starring | Bob Geldof Christine Hargreaves Eleanor David Alex McAvoy Bob Hoskins Michael Ensign |
| Music by | Pink Floyd |
| Cinematography | Peter Biziou |
| Editing by | Gerry Hambling |
| Distributed by | MGM/UA Entertainment Company (theatrical) Sony Music Video (SMV) Enterprises |
| Release date(s) | August 6, 1982 (New York City) |
| Running time | 95 minutes |
| Country |  United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Gross revenue | $22,244,207 |
| All Movie Guide profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
Pink Floyd The Wall is a 1982 film by British director Alan Parker based on the 1979 Pink Floyd album The Wall. The screenplay was written by Pink Floyd vocalist and bassist Roger Waters. The film is highly metaphorical and is rich in symbolic imagery and sound. It features very little dialogue and is mainly driven by Pink Floyd's music. Although it features a linear storyline, in many ways The Wall more resembles a long-form music video than a traditional narrative feature film.
The film contains fifteen minutes of elaborate animation sequences by the political cartoonist and illustrator Gerald Scarfe part of which depict a nightmarish vision of the German bombing campaign over England during World War II set to the song "Goodbye Blue Sky".
Contents |
The film depicts the construction and ultimate demolition of a metaphorical wall. Though the film is highly interpretable, the wall itself clearly reflects a sense of isolation and alienation.
Pink, the tragic hero (and unreliable narrator) of the film, is depicted at various stages of physical and mental development. Pink is first seen sitting lethargically by himself in a hotel room. During the following scenes, it is revealed that Pink's father was killed during World War II when he was an infant. The movie then flashes back to Pink as a young English boy growing up in the early 1950s. Throughout his childhood, Pink longs for a father figure, and is devastated to learn of his father's death through a certificate sent by "kind old King George". Pink bids farewell to his "blue sky" and begins construction on his wall. Later, Pink is seen along with two cronies laying cartridges from his father's service weapon on a railroad, where he is caught by a domineering teacher. The scene then switches over to Pink's school, where he is humiliated by the teacher for writing poems in class. The teacher reads Pink's poem aloud to the class. The poem was taken from Pink Floyd's song "Money". Pink is also affected by his overprotective mother, who aims to lower his sexuality and tries not to let anyone dirty get near him. Despite this, Pink eventually gets married, but over the years, he and his wife grow further and further apart, with Pink concentrating on his music; his wife becomes involved with an anti-nuclear arms group, and eventually has an affair with the leader of the group while Pink is on tour. When Pink learns of the affair, he fills in the gaps in his wall with expensive materialistic possessions. Mirroring his wife's infidelity, Pink (now a rock star) turns to a sexually willing groupie, inviting her to his hotel room despite his initial exasperation with her. Following the groupie's theatrical ramblings concerning his hotel room, Pink falls into another one of his television-induced trances, only to eventually have an emotional breakdown, trashing the hotel room and driving the groupie away. After years of repressed rage and mental anguish, Pink declares that he doesn't need anything at all, and completes his wall.
Behind his freshly completed wall, Pink slowly begins to lose his mind to metaphorical worms eating into his brain. He begins to see the drawbacks of isolating himself from society, and tries vainly to reconnect with the outside world. After failing to do so, Pink locks himself within his hotel room, and spends his days creating an odd shrine out of his ruined possessions. Eventually, Pink shaves off all of his body hair, giving birth to his fascist alter-ego. While watching The Dam Busters, Pink, discovering what he has become, falls into a catatonic state, during which he attempts to reconnect with the past and reverse the fading of his roots. At a train station, Pink is told that human connection is the only way to bring down his wall. However, Pink continues to dwell on the bricks in his wall, unaware of his manager knocking at the door. In the real world, Pink's manager, along with the hotel manager and some paramedics, discover Pink in his catatonic trance, and inject him with drugs to snap him out of it. The drugs cause Pink to hallucinate, causing him to believe that he is a fascist dictator, and that his concert has become a hate rally, in which the melody of In the Flesh is recreated as a military march by a fanfare plus church organ with Wagnerian overtones. Upon his orders, Pink's followers proceed to tear apart the houses and restaurants of minorities and generally destroying everything in their path. At the climax of his rule, Pink's conscience finally rebels. In the final sequence, Pink goes before a bizarre kangaroo court trial, shown entirely in animation. The judge (animated as a giant pair of buttocks wearing a British judge's wig and speaking out of the anus), having heard evidence from Pink's mother, schoolmaster and wife, decrees that Pink should be "exposed before [his] peers" and orders him to "tear down [his] Wall."
Even before the original Pink Floyd album was recorded, a film was intended to be made from it.[1] However, the concept of the film was intended to be live footage from the album's tour, with Scarfe's animation and extra scenes. The film was going to star Waters himself. EMI did not intend to make the film, as they did not understand the concept.[2]
Director Alan Parker, a fan of Pink Floyd, asked EMI whether The Wall could be adapted to film. EMI suggested that Parker talk to Waters, who asked Parker to direct the film. Parker instead suggested that he produce it and give the directing task to Scarfe and Michael Seresin, a cinematographer.[3] Waters began work on the film's screenplay after studying scriptwriting books. He and Scarfe produced a special-edition book containing the screenplay and art to pitch the project to investors. While the book depicted Roger in the role of Pink, after screen tests, Roger was removed from the starring role.[4] and replaced with the edgy punk musician Bob Geldof.
Since Roger was no longer in the starring role, it no longer made sense for the feature to include Pink Floyd footage, so the live film aspect was dropped. Waters and Parker were not given much of a choice anyway, because the footage culled from the five Wall concerts that were held specifically for filming was deemed unusable.[5]
A documentary was produced about the making of Pink Floyd The Wall entitled The Other Side of the Wall that includes interviews with Parker, Scarfe, and clips of Waters, originally aired on MTV in 1982. A second documentary about the film was produced in 1999 entitled Retrospective that includes interviews with Waters, Parker, Scarfe, and other members of the film's production team. Both are on The Wall DVD as extras.
The film was originally released on VHS and LaserDisc on the former MGM/UA Home Video in 1983, and continued on with what became MGM Home Entertainment until around 2000 (it was originally not part of MGM's pre-1986 library acquired by Turner Entertainment). The following year, after Turner merged with Time Warner, the film was incorporated into Turner's holdings, but since Sony Music had, by that time, owned some rights to the film (along with Roger Waters' production company, Tin Blue, Ltd., and music publishing company Kimbridge Music), the video rights were transferred from MGM to Sony Music Video, and all current video releases are from Sony Music. However, Warner Bros. (via Turner) remains the television and theatrical rights holder for the film.
Song changes from album:
- When the Tigers Broke Free 1 - added
- In the Flesh? - extended/re-recorded
- The Thin Ice - extended/re-mixed
- Another Brick in the Wall 1 - unchanged
- When the Tigers Broke Free 2 - added
- Goodbye Blue Sky - re-mixed (moved positions)
- The Happiest Days of Our Lives - re-mixed
- Another Brick in the Wall 2 - re-mixed
- Mother - re-recorded/lyrics changed
- Empty Spaces - deleted, in favor of:
- What Shall We Do Now? - added
- Young Lust - re-recored with screams added
- One of My Turns - re-mixed
- Don't Leave Me Now - shortened
- Another Brick in the Wall 3- re-recorded
- Goodbye Cruel World - unchanged
- Hey You - not included
- Is There Anybody Out There? - classical guitar re-recorded
- Nobody Home - vocals re-mixed
- Vera - unchanged
- Bring the Boys Back Home - extended
- Comfortably Numb - bass line different from album
- The Show Must Go On - not included
- In the Flesh - re-recorded
- Run Like Hell - shortened
- Waiting for the Worms - shortened
- Stop - re-recorded
- The Trial - altered
- Outside the Wall - re-recorded
The only songs from the album not used in the film are Hey You and The Show Must Go On. Most of the Hey You footage was later edited into the film, and raw footage of the intact sequence was first made available on the DVD release as a deleted scene. Roger Waters has expressed dissatisfaction with the final product of the film, and is reported to have been philosophically at odds with director Alan Parker during filming, who himself walked out of the project on multiple occasions due to the conflict. In a 1988 interview on Australian radio, Waters said: "I was a bit disappointed with it in the end, because at the end of the day I felt no sympathy at all with the lead character... and I found it was so unremitting in its onslaught upon the senses, that... it didn't actually give me... as an audience, a chance to get involved with it." [1]
David Gilmour stated that the making of the film was where the feud between him and Waters started. Gilmour also stated on the documentary Behind The Wall (which was aired on BBC TV and VH1 in the US) that "the movie was the less successful telling of The Wall story as opposed to the album and concert versions". The film entered at #28 of the US Box Office charts despite only playing in one theatre on its first weekend, grossing over $68,000, a rare feat even by today's standards. The film then spent just over two months below the top 20 while still in the top 30, before moving up to its peak placing of #3 from the low 20's the previous week.
 |
Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones. |
- The film's original plot was going to comprise of footage of the band playing live at Earls Court in London with Gerald Scarfe's animation sprinkled throughout the film. Alan Parker later nixed the idea. Film footage of the Earls Court shows from 1980 and 1981 have surfaced on bootlegs and look presentable.
- In the scene where Pink is lying in the blood-filled pool, Geldof had to float in a plastic body mould (which had also been used in Supergirl (film)) because he could not swim. Geldof mentions this in his autobigraphy Is That It?
- There is a semi-subliminal image in the bloody pool scene: the soldier/father's face is momentarily replaced with the screaming-face artwork from Scarfe's poster for the film. This screaming-face image is also shown at other points throughout the film for one or two frames at a time, such as when the soldier/father is bombed and killed while frantically attempting to make a phone call.
- During the wedding scene between Pink and the wife, Roger Waters makes a cameo in the movie as one of the wedding witnesses (he is wearing a red overcoat) just after Pink kisses his wife, he is seen standing on the right side of the screen, and during the next scene while the photographer is taking a snapshot of them, he is seen on the far left. Despite his cameo in the movie, Waters chose to not have his name in the credits. Some versions of the film have Roger's cameo trimmed out of the scene.
- During the scene where Pink finds his father's items during "When the Tigers Broke Free", Pink finds a certificate of appreciation that lists his father's name as J.A. Pinkerton. This can be taken to indicate that Pink's real name is Floyd Pinkerton. But, during the scene where Pink is trying to reach his wife on the phone, you can hear, "...call to Mrs. Floyd from Mr. Floyd..." Pink Floyd is probably the character's stage name.
- During the brief interval within "The Happiest Days of Our Lives", Pink's teacher takes the piece of paper from him and reads it aloud to embarrass him in front of the class - Pink's poem is the first and second verses of "Money" from The Dark Side of the Moon.
- During the filming of the "One of My Turns" hotel-room-smashing scene, Bob Geldof actually hurt his hand tearing wooden slats out of the wardrobe doors, but was so caught up in moment that he did not stop. The crew were unaware of the injury until the filming finished. You can see in the film Bob briefly stop and look at his hand, and then continue. For the rest of the scene he has a shirt or sheet either held or wrapped around that hand. Ironically, it was not the hand the character injures on a piece of glass at the end of the scene.
- During the scenes in which Pink becomes a skinhead leader, real neo-Nazis were used as extras in rallies. Director Alan Parker lost his voice shouting "cut" on certain scenes; also, animator Gerald Scarfe felt things were getting out of hand when some turned up with his crossed-hammers symbol shaved into their heads. Today, the crossed hammers have been adopted as the logo of the racist group Hammerskins.
- During the scene in which Pink is sitting in the bathroom stall reading his poetry book, just before he begins the lyrics to "Stop", he recites: "Do you remember me? How we used to be? Do you think we should be closer?", which are lyrics from "Your Possible Pasts", the second track of The Final Cut, released one year after the movie. After a brief pause, Pink then begins to recite: "And I reached out my hand, just to touch your soft hair; to make sure in the darkness, that you were still there; and I have to admit, I just was a little afraid..." These are lyrics from "5:11 AM (The Moment of Clarity)", the last track on Waters's The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking, released two years after the movie.
- The war movie that Pink watches on the hotel room's television is the classic World War II film The Dam Busters (1954). Dialogue stating that the dog's name is Nigger is deliberately included, although UK television screenings typically omit the scene (and U.S. versions redub the name as "Trigger").
- In the first few frames of the "defecation" toward the end of the Trial, the prosecutor and another character from the beginning of the animated sequence come flying out with the excrement. This is only noticeable while watching the sequence at a slower speed.
- The film does not feature the "loop" found on the album, which begins with Roger Waters saying "...we came in" and ends with "Isn't this where...". However, it is included, after a fashion, on the DVD as an easter egg. The DVD commentary track ends as the credits begin to roll, but if it is left playing, the line "Isn't this where we came in?" is heard (in one piece) after the credits.
- Several sequences feature Bob Hoskins (playing Pink Floyd's manager trying to downplay the artist's alienation). Hollywood's famed composer and conductor Michael Kamen is briefly shown conducting the fanfare that plays the "fascistic" version of "In the Flesh". The hotel manager was played by actor Michael Ensign, who would also play a hotel manager in the movie Ghostbusters. The song "Empty Spaces" was replaced with its longer version, "What Shall We Do Now," which was the version that was originally supposed to be on the album, but was cut for time. However, the songs lyrics appear in their entirety on the album's lyric sheet.
|
|
Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones. |
- The music video for Muse's "Hysteria" is almost a complete reference of this movie, notably the hotel-trashing scene with the groupie ("One of My Turns", "Another Brick in the Wall part III"), the opening sequence, the telephone sequences and the blurred shots from Pink's point of view when dragged through the hotel corridor (Comfortably Numb).
- The In The Flesh?, In The Flesh, and Run Like Hell scenes are referenced in the music video for My Chemical Romance's single "Teenagers". The video begins with doors being pushed in by teenage fans (In The Flesh?). They then bust through and sit to watch the band play the first verse (In The Flesh.). They finally get up and start to salute the band (an exact reference to the beginning of the "Run Like Hell" scene).
In 1988, the Dallas, Texas based Confederate Hammer Skins adopted the "Hammer Cross" emblem as their logo. They later grew into a worldwide organization now known as The Hammerskin Nation
- ^ Schaffner, Nicholas. Saucerful of Secrets. Dell Publishing, 225.
- ^ Schaffner, Nicholas. Saucerful of Secrets. Dell Publishing, 244.
- ^ Schaffner, Nicholas. Saucerful of Secrets. Dell Publishing, 244-245.
- ^ Schaffner, Nicholas. Saucerful of Secrets. Dell Publishing, 245-246.
- ^ Schaffner, Nicholas. Saucerful of Secrets. Dell Publishing, 246.
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Australian ARIA DVD Chart | #10 |
- A Complete Analysis of Pink Floyd The Wall by Bret Urick
- Pink Floyd The Wall at the Internet Movie Database
- Pink Floyd The Wall at Rotten Tomatoes
|
|
|---|
|
Our Cissy (1974) • Footsteps (1974) • The Evacuees (1975) (TV) • Bugsy Malone (1976) • Midnight Express (1978) • Fame (1980) • Shoot the Moon (1982) • Pink Floyd The Wall (1982) • Birdy (1984) • Angel Heart (1987) • Mississippi Burning (1988) • Come See The Paradise (1990) • The Commitments (1991) • The Road to Wellville (1994) • Evita (1996) • Angela's Ashes (1999) • The Life of David Gale (2003) • The Ice At The Bottom Of The World (2007) (in production) • |